Fastener for diapers and the like



Jan. 30, 1968 A. LANGAS ETAL 3,365,763

FASTENER FOR DIAPERS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 24, 1966 INVENTORS:

A RTH UR LA NGAS HARRISON C. LINGLE United States Patent 3,365,763FASTENER FOR DIAPERS AND THE LIKE rthnr Langas, 7227 N. Ridge Blvd,Chicago, Ill. 60645, and Harrison C. Lingle, 51 Crescent Place,Wilmette, Ill. 60991 Filed Jan. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 522,581 6 Claims. {CL24-248) AESTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A two-piece fabric clasp designedespecially as a diaper fastener and which is devoid offabric-penetrating points or sharp edges. A spring wire frameestablishes a fabricreceiving slot and a bell crank having a longmanipulating arm and a short fabric-engaging arm forces the fabricbetween two opposed portions of the frame and spreads the samethereagainst. A self-locking action under the influence of compressionalforces exerted on the fabric holds the bell crank in an over-centerposition against release.

The improved fabric fastener comprising the present invention has beendesigned for use primarily as a diaper clasp for holding the overlappingedge regions of a diaper or other breechcloth in position againstseparation or relative shifting movements when in its applied position.The invention is however capable of other uses and fabric fastenersembodying the principles of the present invention may, if desired, withor without modification as required, be employed for securing theoverlapping portions of various other types of garments such as blanketsor the like in their overlapping relationship. Irrespective however ofthe particular use to which the invention may be put, the essentialfeatures thereof are at all times preserved.

Broadly considered, fasteners for diapers may be divided into twogeneral classes, namely diaper pins and diaper clasps, the former havingassociated therewith one or more fabric-penetrating shank portions andthe latter being devoid of such portions and usually being provided withopposed fabric-gripping jaws similar to those employed in connectionwith conventional necktie clasps. Diaper pins are possessed of numerouslimitations, principal among which is the hazard offered to the infantby the sharp points of the pin shanks. Although many conventional diaperpins make provision for shielding these points, the shielding is noteffective until the diaper pins are closed and thus there is danger inapplying them. Furthermore difiiculty is encountered in forcing the pinshanks through the fabric material, this being especially true where alarge number of fabric layers are involved. According to present daydiaper application procedure, a minimum of six fabric layers is involvedfor each pin shank penetration but frequently, to reduce the size of theleg openings of the applied diapers, edge folds are resorted to whichincrease the number of layers to nine. Ultimately the points of the pinshanks become dull and the article is then usually discarded.

A further limitation that is attendant upon the construction and use ofconventional pin type fasteners resides in the fact that when thematerial undergoing fastening is of a fragile nature, as for examplesatin binding as applied to blankets, or the closely woven cottonfastening tabs of an infants undershirt, penetration thereof by the pinshanks weakens the fabric. Since the holes which are created by thepunctures are not self-healing as is the case with loosely woven cloth,repeated application of pin type fasteners thereto results indeterioration and short fabric life. Finally the use of diaper pinshaying fabric-penetrating shanks require that any given penetra- "icetion be made at a region well within the margins of the material so thattensional forces will not subsequently rupture the material. However,careful selection of a proper penetration point-must be made lest toomuch material be gathered to prevent closing of the diaper pin. Theseand other limitations that are attendant upon the construction and useof conventional diaper pins operate in favor of the use of diaper claspsas an alternative.

Conventional diaper clasps are also possessed of certain limitations,one such limitation being lack of proper holding power. Most diaperclasps rely upon spring pressure to maintain the clasp yieldingly in itsclosed condition and when this spring pressure is exceeded the claspwill allow slippage of the fabric or other breech material Where springpressure is increased to resist such slippage, additional manual forceis required to open the clasp preparatory to its application and thisobviously places a limitation upon the over-all thickness of thecomposite material undergoing fastening. Normal finger strength alsoplaces a limitation upon the extent to which spring pressure may beincreased.

In an efiort to prevent either fabric-to-fabric or fabricto-claspslippage, some clasp type fasteners are provided with serrated clampingjaws but these have a tendency to ensnare the fabric fibers and renderit difficult either to install or remove the clasps. Where the claspsare ernployed on materials other than diapers which are fragile,puncturing of the material by the serrations sometimes results. In thecase of rubberized fabrics, there is a tendency for the jaw serrationsto become clogged due to shredding of the elastomeric material.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above-notedlimitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of both pintype and clasp type diaper and other similar fastening devices and,toward this end, the invention contemplates the provision of a noveltwopiece, articulated, clasp type fastener which, although it operatesupon the opposed jaw principle, is so constructed that one of the jawsassociated therewith is capable of moving to an over-center positionunder the yielding pressure offered by the fabric or other materialundergoing clamping, thereby locking the fastening device againstdislodgment under the influence of any spreading action which thematerial is capable of exerting upon the jaws. "this feature of theinvention constitutes one of the principal objetcs thereof.

In carrying out the above-mentioned object, the invention contemplatesthe provision of a diaper clasp having a framework presenting a fixedbifurcated anvil jaw, and a lever which is fulcrumed on an axis abovethe level of the anvil jaw, one arm of the lever constituting acooperating jaw. The lever is freely movable between a raised positionwherein the lever arm or jaw is remote from the anvil jaw so that theoverlapping portions of the fabric or other diaper material may beintroduced edgewise between the two jaws, and a lowered position whereinthe lever jaw enters between the bifurcations of the anvil jaw, thusforcing the intervening regions of the fabric material between thebifurcations, a stop for the movable lever jaw being provided after thelatter has swung beyond its dead center position. By such anarrangement, not only are the overlapping layers of the fabric materialforced hard against each other, but additionally the clamping area whichis exerted thereon is increased due to the arcuate bias which is appliedthereto so that resistance to fabric-to-fabric slippage is greatlyenhanced. Additionally, because the overlapping layers of the fabricmaterial are introduced edgewise between the jaws, the direction of suchtensional forces as ordinarily are prevalent with folded and applieddiapers is at a right angle to the direction of swinging movement of themovable 9 a lever so that these forces do not oppose the direction ofclosing movement of the movable lever and there is no tendency for themto overcome the previously mentioned over-center locking action.

An additional feature of the present invention resides in the provisionof dual or two-way locking action which obtains when the movable leverassumes its final position against the aforementioned stop provided forit at the time it moves to its over-center fully closed position. Notonly does this locking action lock the lever against both over-traveland regression, but it also locks the bifurcations of the anvil jawagainst the spreading action which otherwise would be applied theretounder the influence of any pulling action thereon which may be exertedby tension in the diaper fabric or other breech material.

Yet another and important feature of the present invention resides inthe maintenance of a predetermined friction differential between thefabric and the anvil jaw on one hand and the fabric and movable leverjaw on the other hand. Whereas, with equal friction in both casesextreme difiiculty might be encountered in moving the movable jaw to itsclosed condition of cooperation with the fixed anvil jaw, a lessening ofthe frictional characteristics exerted by the movable lever upon thefabric will allow the lever to slide or slip upon the fabric at the timethe lever is moved toward its closed position, while at the same timethe fabric is held against sliding on the anvil jaw so that there willbe no tendency for the fabric to adhere to the moving jaw and thus slideon the fixed anvil jaw to a position wherein it will not become securelyclamped between the two jaws.

The provision of a diaper clasp which is extremely simple in itsconstruction and which therefore may be manufactured at a low cost; onewhich is comprised of but two relatively movable parts and whichtherefore is unlikely to get out of order; one which is rugged anddurable and which therefore will withstand rough usage; one which iscapable of ease of manipulation under all conditions of usage; one whichreadily lends itself to card mounting for display purposes withoutrequiring extraneous tie wires, staples or other fastening devices; onewhich is attractive in its appearance and pleasing in its design; andone which, otherwise, is well adapted to perform the services requiredof it, are further desirable features which have been borne in mind inthe production and development of the present invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this timeenumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the nature of theinvention is better understood.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of thisspecification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention has beenshown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a diaper fastener constructedaccording to the present invention and showing the same in an opencondition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the fastener inits closed condition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the fastener;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 66 of FIG. 3showing the fastener in its open condition preparatory to becomingclosed upon the overlapping portions of a fabric; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the fastenerclosed upon the fabric.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 to5 inclusive, a diaper fastening device has been designated in itsentirety at 10 and it involves in its general organization two'hingedlyconnected parts, namely a base framework 12 which is generally U-shapein vertical longitudinal cross section and a lever 14 in the form of abell crank. As will be described in greater detail presently, theframework 12 is comprised of a single length 16 of spring wire stock,preferably stainless steel, bent to a predetermined configuration andhaving a limited portion of its length coated or covered with a jacket18 of an elastomeric material.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive, the framework 10 includes a basestructure or support 29 (designated by brackets in the various views),and a super structure 22 (similarly designated by brackets). The basestructure is generally U-shape in horizontal longitudinal cross sectionand includes a pair of substantially parallel arms 24 and aninterconnecting 'bight portion 26, the latter being raised slightlyabove the generally horizontal plane of the arms 24 as clearly shown inFIG. 3. The parallel arms 24, in effect, define an elongated slot 25therebetween. The superstructure 22 similarly includes a pair ofsubstantially parallel arms 28 and an interrupted or split bight portion30 (FIGS. 6 and 7). The arms 28 are inclined with respect to the arms 24at an angle of approximately 30 and are joined to the latter arms byreverse reentrant bends 32. The arms 28 are somewhat shorter than thearms 24 so that the interrupted bight portion 30 overlies the generalplane of the arms 24 and extends transversely of the superstructurealong a horizontal axis which is displaced forwardly from the centralvertical transverse plane of the framework.

The elastomeric jacket 18 is substantially coextensive with the two arms24 of the base structure 2% and the interconnecting bight portion 26,the jacket being of tubular construction and the ends thereofterminating in the vicinity of the reentrant bends 32. Preferably thejacket is formed of a suitable elastomeric material such as rubber,either natural or synthetic or a rubber substitute. Under certaincircumstances, the jacket may be formed of a suitable plastic materialhaving good frictional characteristics for purposes that will be madeclear presently. The manner in which the jacket is applied to the wirestock 16 forms no part of the present invention, various means such asvulcanization, dipping, spraying or other suitable processes beingcontemplated. If desired the tubular jacket may be preformed andsubsequently telescopically applied to the wire stock, either before orafter the latter has been bent to form. Preferably however the jacket 18is applied to the wire material by a dipping operation to assure goodadhesion and to prevent looseness. Such a dipping operation alsofacilitates application of the jacket inasmuch as application of apreformed jacket to a sharp angular bend would otherwise involveinstallation difficulties. Alternatively, the jacket may be applied by amolding operation, followed by a vulcanization process. If desired, thejacket may be formed of a suitable plastic material which is molded inposition and subsequently polymerized. Irrespective however of theparticular material involved or the manner of applying the jacket, theessential features of the invention remain the same.

The lever 14, as previously stated, is in the form of a solid body whichpreferably is of a molded plastic material such as Teflon or a suitablephenol condensation product which, when polymerized, exhibits a lowcoetficient of friction for reasons that will be set forth subsequently. The lever, being in the form of a bell crank, includes agenerally bulbous body portion (FIG. 3) which constitutes one arm of thebell crank, and a generally flat manipulative actuating or handleportion 42 of slightly greater width than the body portion 40 so as toprovide, in effect, a pair of side wings 44 the function of which willbecome apparent presently. A transverse 'bore 46 is provided adjacentthe proximate end of the body portion 40 and receives therein the twointurned ends of the wire stock 16 which constitute the interrupted orsplit bight portion 30 so that these ends constitute, in effect,trunnion supports at the outer or distal end of the superstructure 14for the lever or bell crank 14 as a whole. It is to be noted that thegenerally flat handle portion 42 merges gradually with the bulbous bodyportion 40 as best seen in FIG. 3 so that one effective arm of the bellcrank is afforded in its entirety by the body portion 40 while the othereffective arm of the bell crank is afforded partly by the body portion40 and partly by the flat handle portion 42.

The bell crank 14 is thus freely fulcrumed on the framework 12 forswinging movement between the raised retracted position wherein it isshown in FIG. 1 and in dotted lines in FIG. 3 and the lowered advancedposition wherein it is shown in FIG. 2 and in full lines in FIG. 3. Inthe raised position of the bell crank 14, the diverging base structure20 and superstructure 22 establish, in effect, a forwardly openingunobstructed mouth for edgewise reception of the overlapping edgeportions of the diaper fabric. In the lowered position of the bellcrank, the bulbous body portion 40 thereof descends in the manner of aneccentric cam upon the fabric and forces the latter downwardly as shownin FIG. 7 between the parallel arms 24 of the base structure and intothe slot 25 defined thereby, the lower or distal tip of the body portion40 projecting completely through the slot 25 as clearly shown in FIGS. 2and 3. The swinging movement of the bell crank 14 is limited by theprovision of the two side wings 44 which come to rest upon the medialregions of the respective inclined arms 28 of the superstructure 22,these arms seating within grooves 50 (FIG. 4) which are defined by thejuncture between the side wings and the central part of the handleportion 42. As will be explained in greater detail presently the seatingof the handle portion 42 on the arms 28 and the partial confinement ofthe later within the grooves not only limits the extent of swingingmovement of the bell crank 14, but it also confines the arms 28 in theirparallelism and prevents outward spreading of these arms under thewedging action of the bulbous body portion 40 of the bell crank 14 whichenters between the arms 24 and exerts a wedging action thereon which istransmitted to the arms 28 through the reentrant bends 18, all in amanner that will become apparent when the operation of the presentdiaper clasp is set forth. To facilitate raising of the bell crank fromits lowered position to release the overlapping portions of the diaperfabric, the outer or distal edge region of the handle portion 42 isundercut as indicated at 52 in FIG. 3, thereby affording a reactionsurface for the fingernail of the user when releasing the clasp.

In the operation of the herein described diaper clasp 10, theoverlapping edge portions of the folded diaper fabric are introducededgewise and rearwardly through the open mouth of the framework 12 asheretofore described until the extreme edges thereof become seatedwithin the crotch which is defined by the reentrant bends 32 (FIG. 3).This is accomplished by the simple expedient of hooking the framework,so to speak, over the overlapping edges of the fabric. The clasp thenassumes the relationship with respect to the fabric which has beenillustrated in FIG. 6, the overlapping regions of the fabric beingdesignated at F in this view. Thereafter, by manually engaging thehandle portion 42 of the bellcrank 14, the latter is swung in acounterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 3, thus causing the bulbousbody portion 40 of the bell crank to descend upon the fabric F andepress or force the same downwardly as shown in FIG. 7 so that itenters between the parallel arms 24 and becomes firmly clamped betweenthese arms and the bulbous body portion 40. Although this forcible entryof the fabric between the arms 24 may cause a limited amount ofspreading of the arms due to the spring characteristics of the wirematerial 16, undue spreading thereof is prevented by the aforementionedlocking action exerted by the interlock between the arms 28 and thegrooves 50 which are formed in the handle portion 42 of the bell crank.

It is to be noted at this point that during the downward swingingmovement of the bulbous body portion 40 of the bellcrank, the lowfrictional characteristics which are offered by the smooth plasticmaterial of the bellcrank allow the distal end of the body portion 40 toslide upon the fabric and move to the over-center position illustratedin FIG. 3 where the upward force of the compressed fabric serves toyieldingly urge the bellcrank in a locking direction and thus lock thebellcrank in this position. At the same time, the relatively highfrictional characteristics offered by the elastomeric material of thejacket 18 which covers the arms 24 prevent sliding of the fabric uponthese arms and thus eliminates the danger of the fabric slipping fromthe anvil jaw which is established by these arms. The upturned bightportion 26 also assists in restraining the fabric from slipping from theanvil jaw and it further serves as a contour relief portion for theapplied clasp so that the distal end of the anvil jaw will not projectagainst the body of the infant and cause discomfort, it being noted thatthis portion of the clasp ordinarily comes into contact with the body atthe juncture region between the torso and the hips. It is to be furthernoted that the bight portion 26 is disposed an appreciable distanceforwardly of the body portion 40 of the bellcrank when the latter is inits locking position and thus the binding action on the fabric layers issubstantially entirely against the parallel arms 24 of the basestructure with practically no binding action existing between the bightportion 26 and the body portion 40 of the bellcrank. By such anarrangement, the bight portion 26 offers no resistance to movement ofthe bellcrank to its fully locked position.

Release of the clasp is effected by raising the handle portion from itsseated position on the parallel arms 28, this being accomplished byinitially inserting the fingernail beneath the relieved or undercutportion 52 (FIG. 3). The bellcrank 14 is thus swung in acounterclockwise direction and, again, the difference in frictionalcharacteristics between the plastic material of the bellcrank and theelastomeric material of the wire covering or jacket 18 holds the fabricfrom bunching in the crotch region afiorded by the reentrant bends 32and allows the body portion 40 of the bellcrank to slide upon the fabricto its position of release. After such release, the clasp 10 may bebodily slipped or unhooked, so to speak, from the overlapping edgeportions of the folded diaper fabric.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example,although the framework 12 of the clasp has been shown and describedherein as being formed, in the main, of spring wire stock, it is withinthe purview of the invention to provide a rigid framework if desired. Inits broadest aspects, the invention contemplates the provision of a basestructure and a superstructure, the former being either divided asillustrated herein, or simply slotted to provide an anvil havingparallel side portions, or simply having an opening therethrough andinto which the fabric material may be forced by the eccentric cammingaction of a bellcrank which operates upon the principles set forthherein. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly beenpointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. An articulated two-piece clasp for securing the edge regions ofoverlapping fabric layers together, said clasp comprising: a frameworkand a bellcrank pivoted thereto for swinging movement thereon, saidframework being generally U-shape in vertical longitudinal cross sectionand providing a generally horizontal base support and an overlyingsuperstructure connected thereto by a reverse bend at the rear of theframework, the base support and superstructure defining therebetween aforwardly opening mouth designed for edgewise reception of saidoverlapping fabric layers, said base support being provided with anelongated longitudinally extending slot therein, means at the distal endof the superstructure providing a pivotal support for the bellcrankwhereby the latter is constrained to swing about a horizontal fulcrumaxis extending transversely of the slot, said bellcrank including afabric-engaging arm and a manipulative lever arm and being movable in alocking direction from a raised retracted position wherein said mouth isunobstructed to a lowered fabric-clamping position wherein thefabric-engaging arm projects across said mouth and into said slot to aleading over-center position with respect to the general plane of thebase support, thus displacing a portion of the overlapping fabric layerswithin the mouth downwardly and forcing the same into the slot andlaterally outwardly against the sides thereof under compression and inbinding relationship, said manipulative lever arm being engageable witha portion of the superstructure for limiting the extent of swingingmovement of the bellcrank in said locking direction after thefabric-engaging arm has moved to said over-center position whereby thecompression of said fabric layers yieldingly urge said bellcrank to itslocking position.

2. A clasp as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fabricengaging arm is ofa bulbous nature and presents a smooth uninterrupted side-surfacecontour which is directly engageable with the adjacent fabric layerwithin said mouth and which has a relatively low coefiicient of frictionwith respect to the fabric material so as to be freely slidable thereon,the sides of said slot having a relatively high CO- efiicient offriction with respect to the fabric material so as to restrain slidingof such material thereon during the impelling influence of said leverarm during swinging movement of the latter in its locking direction.

3. An articulated'two-piece clasp for securing the edge regions ofoverlapping fabric layers together, said clasp comprising: a spring wireframework and a bell crank pivoted thereto, said framework beingcomprised of a length of spring wire stock bent to provide a U-shapedbase structure presenting a pair of substantially parallel horizontalarms and an overlying superstructure likewise presenting a pair ofsubstantially parallel arms which are connected at their rear ends tothe rear end of the arms of the base structure by vertically extendingreentrant bends, horizontal bight portions extending between the forwardends of each pair of parallel arms, said pairs of arms definingtherebetween a forwardly opening mouth designed for edgewise receptionof said overlapping fabric layers to such an extent that the extremeedges of the layers engage said reentrant bends, said bellcrankincluding a fabric-engaging arm and a manipulative lever arm and beingfulcrumed on the bight portion of the superstructure for rotation inopposite directions about the axis of said bight portion, said bellcrankbeing movable in a locking direction from a raised retracted posi- 8tion wherein said forwardly opening mouth is unobstructed for receptionof the fabric layers to a lowered fabricclamping position wherein thefabric-engaging arm projects across said mouth and enters between theparallel arms of the base structure and moves to a leading over-centerposition with respect to the plane of said horizontal arms, thusdisplacing a portion of the overlapping fabric layers within the mouthdownwardly and forcing the same between and generally laterallyoutwardly against such arms in binding relationship, the effective widthof said manipulative lever arm being greater than the distance betweenthe arms of said superstructure and the effective angularity of thebellcrank being such that the opposite side portions of the lever armwill come to rest upon the arms of the superstructure and establish theover-center position of the fabric-engaging arm,

the bight portion associated with the base structure being disposed anappreciable distance forwardly of the horizontal bight portionassociated with the superstructure and also forwardly of thefabric-engaging arm when the latter is in its fabric-clamping position,thus maintaining the bight portion of the base structure out of clampingengagement with the fabric layers.

4. A clasp as set forth in claim 3, wherein the fabricengaging lever armis of a bulbous nature and presents smooth uninterrupted side surfaceswhich are directly and slidably engageable with the adjacent fabriclayer within said mouth, the frictional characteristics of the parallelarms of the base structure being such as to restrain sliding of theadjacent fabric layer thereon during movement of the bellcrank to andfrom its lowered position.

5. A clasp as set forth in claim 4, wherein the manipulative lever isformed with a pair of grooves therein within which the parallel arms ofthe superstructure are received when said manipulative lever comes torest thereon and by means of which grooves said latter arms areconstrained against outward spreading movement under the influence ofthe wedging action exerted by the fabric layers when the bellcrank is inits lowered position.

6. A clamp as set forth in claim 5, wherein the forward end regions ofthe parallel arms of the base structure are inclined upwardly wherebythe interconnecting bight portion therebetween is disposed above thelevel of said latter arms.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 567,613 9/ 1896 Richards 24248773,979 11/ 1904 Pevey 24259 X 783,039 2/ 1905 Hirsh 24248 1,179,657 4/1916 Rotermund 24-248 1,849,020 3/1922 Allison 2449 FOREIGN PATENTS7,740 1893 Great Britain. 1,554 1914 Great Britain.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner.

